Like other major pro sports leagues, the NHL is exploring different ways to potentially resume its season amid the coronavirus outbreak. According to Florida Panthers president Matt Caldwell, that can hopefully happen beginning in July.
Caldwell said on a conference call Wednesday that the NHL is looking at resuming its season in July, with the tentative plan being to play games at four or five different neutral sites. It’s unclear at this point if fans would be allowed to attend.
JUST IN: NHL looking at restarting season in July.
Games would be played at 4 or 5 neutral sites with limited or no fans, according to Florida Panthers president Matt Caldwell.
On the conference call, he said this plan is not finalized.
— Andy Slater (@AndySlater) April 22, 2020
Both the NBA and NHL had previously been considering June returns, but July may be more realistic. Aside from having to wait before games can be played without putting players and team staff at risk, there are also a ton of logistics to sort through such as where games will be played and whether or not players will need to quarantine in centralized locations.
Wayne Gretzky said over the weekend that he is confident we will see NHL hockey this summer “albeit in a different way.” Things appear to be trending in that direction.
